Since its debut, the Chicago Marathon has slowly but surely worked its way onto that list and into the hearts of runners from around the world.

The first-ever Chicago Marathon was organized by the Illinois Athletic Club in 1905. Fewer than 20 runners began the race in Evanston and crossed the finish line at the Washington Park Race Track in Chicago. Roughly 100,000 spectators paid (yes, paid) to cheer on the finishers. For more than a decade, elite runners took to the Chicago course annually, but the event was put on the back burner in the 1920s.

When the country’s marathon scene picked up again some 40 years later, Chicago didn’t miss a beat. By the 1970s, the Chicago, New York and Boston (older yet considerably smaller) were considered the nation’s great marathons.

New York was known for its diverse five-borough course, Boston for its history and Chicago for welcoming casual and competitive runners alike. Olympic gold-medal winner Joan Benoit referred to as “the world’s marathon.”

The modern Chicago Marathon that we know today began in 1977, thanks to support from Mayor Richard J. Daley. Although Daley passed away before the event, his successor, Michael Bilandic, saw his predecessor’s vision to fruition. Bilandic’s wife, Heather, even passed out medals as some 4,200 runners made the September race the largest marathon in the world to date.

Over the next two decades, the marathon began signing big-name sponsors, like LaSalle Bank in 1993, and offering a hefty prize purse. As the Chicago Marathon evolved, it lost and gained sponsors, changed its route, added a wheelchair division, dealt with record-breaking temperatures and was home to record-breaking race times.

In 2006, it was part of an elite group of races that collectively launched the World Marathon Majors, a two-year ultra-competitive race series that includes marathons in Tokyo, New York, Boston, London Berlin, Chicago and two other cities, depending on the year.

In 2008, Bank of America purchased LaSalle Bank, the race’s previous namesake, and the Chicago Marathon became The Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

The looped course starts and finishes at Grant Park and winds through 29 of the city’s neighborhoods. There are 45,000 registered participants and more than 12,000 race-day volunteers. Runners from 115 countries and all 50 states will compete, with the winner taking home $100,000. This year women will represent roughly 45 percent of the runners.

The Chicago Marathon has dug its roots deep, making Chicago one of the few elite cities with a world-class race to call its own. With more than 100 years of rich history, there’s no doubt Chicago can look forward to more record-breaking and breathtaking moments at the 36th annual Chicago Marathon.